Magazine Archive 2012

First Solar: In a ruthlessly competitive market, quality is paramount. As thin film giant First Solar embarks on a program of radical restructuring and with new CEO James Hughes at the helm, the last thing it needs is its product underperforming in the field. But that is exactly what the U.S. company had to face throughout 2011, with the issue continuing to impact the company’s balance sheet in 2012 also. Is the issue resolved? pv magazine investigates.

Applied Materials in China: At the Applied Materials 2012 Solar Innovation Summit in Xi’an, China, the manufacturer of equipment for the semiconductor and solar PV industries discussed its business strategy as well as the dynamics of the Chinese photovoltaics industry.

Indian manufacturing: The rise of the Asian solar cell and panel producers could not have happened without the aid of European solar equipment suppliers. All these companies have enjoyed huge sales and orders as Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese and of late Malaysian and Indian companies have added – and continue to add – massive capacities.

Indian manufacturing: The rise of the Asian solar cell and panel producers could not have happened without the aid of European solar equipment suppliers. All these companies have enjoyed huge sales and orders as Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese and of late Malaysian and Indian companies have added – and continue to add – massive capacities.

Brand choice: Customers are not usually the ones who decide which PV system will be installed. Sometimes they have a specific solar panel or inverter brand in mind, but usually they get another product on or under the roof, as a brand choice study shows.

CIGS: Cost per watt is becoming increasingly important, in a savagely competitive module market. Thomas Umschlag, Sales Manager for Thin Film Solar at equipment manufacturer Manz argues that CIGS technology is able to deliver sufficient reductions, when the process is managed at every step along the way.

Renewables Indonesia: The world’s fourth most populous country still has some 70 million people without any access to electricity. The natural conditions are present for a viable photovoltaics market, but the push for renewables has remained lackluster. The Renewables Indonesia 2012 that took place in Jakarta hoped to speed things up.

BIPV: U.S.-based company New Energy Technologies, in collaboration with NREL scientists, has recently completed the successful fabrication of the largest-ever organic photovoltaic (OPV) module developed at NREL. The company claims the achievement represents an important step in the ongoing development of its SolarWindow technology – and one which could pave the way for innovative BIPV applications.

Solar maps: Investment in renewable energy in Africa is growing and the need for more accurate and updated data has been on the rise more than ever before.

Interview: Vice President of LG’s EU solar group, Michael Harre provides pv magazine with his perspective on what influences end-customers’ PV system purchasing decisions. In addition to direct consumer advertising, he outlines LG’s strategies to creating and maintaining installer relationships, and the different regional approaches required.